CSS tutorial covering chapters on selectors, properties, and positioning

Crated By: - Vijay Kumar Sharma
Email: - vk_9010@yahoo.com

Mobile No. 8385056379

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Contents
Chapter 1 : Introduction to CSS
Chapter 2 : CSS Syntax
Chapter 3 : CSS Classes
Chapter 4 : CSS IDs
Chapter 5 : CSS Divisions
Chapter 6 : CSS Spans
Chapter 7 : CSS Margins
Chapter 8 : CSS Padding
Chapter 9 : CSS Text Properties
Chapter 10 : CSS Font Properties
Chapter 11 : CSS Anchors, Links and Pseudo Classes
Chapter 12 : CSS Backgrounds
Chapter 13 : CSS Borders
Chapter 14 : CSS Lists
Chapter 15 : CSS Width and Height Properties
Chapter 16 : CSS Classification
Chapter 17 : CSS Positioning
Chapter 18 : CSS Pseudo Elements

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Chapter 1 : Introduction to CSS
A CSS (cascading style sheet) file allows you to separate your web sites (X)HTML
content from it’s style. As always you use your (X)HTML file to arrange the
content, but all of the presentation (fonts, colors, background, borders, text
formatting, link effects & so on…) are accomplished within a CSS.
At this point you have some choices of how to use the CSS, either internally or
externally.
Internal Style sheet
First we will explore the internal method. This way you are simply placing the CSS
code within the <head></head> tags of each (X)HTML file you want to style with
the CSS. The format for this is shown in the example below.
<head>
<title><title>
<style type=”text/css”>
CSS Content Goes Here
</style>
</head>
<body>

With this method each (X) HTML file contains the CSS code needed to style the page.
Meaning that any changes you want to make to one page will have to be made to all.
This method can be good if you need to style only one page, or if you want different
pages to have varying styles.

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External Style sheet
Next we will explore the external method. An external CSS file can be created with any
text or HTML editor such as “Notepad” or “Dream weaver”. A CSS file contains no (X)
HTML, only CSS. You simply save it with the .css file extension. You can link to the
file externally by placing one of the following links in the head section of every (X)
HTML file you want to style with the CSS file.
<link rel=”stylesheet” type=”text/css” href=“Path To stylesheet.css” />
Or you can also use the @import method as shown below
<style type=”text/css”>@import url(Path To stylesheet.css)</style>
Either of these methods are achieved by placing one or the other in the head
section as shown in example below.
<head>
<title><title>
<link rel=”stylesheet” type=”text/css”href=”style.css” />
</head>
<body>
or
<head>
<title><title>
<style type=”text/css”> @import url(Path To stylesheet.css) </style>
</head>
<body>

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By using an external style sheet, all of your (X)HTML files link to one CSS file in
order to style the pages. This means, that if you need to alter the design of all your
pages, you only need to edit one .css file to make global changes to your entire
website.
Here are a few reasons this is better.
Easier Maintenance
Reduced File Size
Reduced Bandwidth
Improved Flexibility

Are you getting the idea? It’s really cool.

Cascading Order
In the previous paragraphs, I have explained how to link to a css file either internally
or externally. If you understood, than I am doing a good job. If not don’t fret, there
is a long way to go before we are finished. Assuming you have caught on already,
you are probably asking, well can I do both? The answer is yes. You can have both
internal, external, and now wait a minute a third way? Yes inline styles also.

Inline Styles
I have not mentioned them until now because in a way they defeat the purpose of
using CSS in the first place. Inline styles are defined right in the (X) HTML file
along side the element you want to style.
See example below.
<p style=”color: #ff0000 ;”> some red text</p>

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Chapter 2 : CSS Syntax
The syntax for CSS is different than that of (X)HTML markup. Though it is not too
confusing, once you take a look at it. It consists of only 3 parts.
selector { property: value }
The selector is the (X)HTML element that you want to style. The property is the actual
property title, and the value is the style you apply to that property.
Each selector can have multiple properties, and each property within that selector can
have independent values. The property and value are separated with a colon and
contained within curly brackets. Multiple properties are separated by a semi colon.
Multiple values within a property are sperated by commas, and if an individual value
contains more than one word you surround it with quotation marks. As shown below.
body {
background: #eeeeee;
font-family: “Trebuchet MS”, Verdana, Arial, serif;
}
As you can see in the above code I have separated the color from the font-family with a
semi-colon, separated the various fonts with commas and contained the “Trebuchet
MS” within quotations marks. The final result sets the body color to light grey, and sets
the font to ones that most users will have installed on there computer.
I have changed the way I layout my code, but you can arrange it in one line if you
choose. I find that it is more readable if I spread each property to a separate line, with a
2 space indention.

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For example, a font declared in the body will be inherited by all text in the file no
matter the containing element, unless you declare another font for a specific nested
element.
body {font-family: Verdana, serif;}
Now all text within the (X)HTML file will be set to Verdana.
If you wanted to style certain text with another font, like an h1 or a paragraph then you
could do the following.
h1 {font-family: Georgia, sans-serif;}
p {font-family: Tahoma, serif;}
Now all <h1> tags within the file will be set to Georgia and all <p> tags are set to
Tahoma, leaving text within other elements unchanged from the body declaration of
Verdana.
There are instances where nested elements do not inherit the containing elements
properties.
For example, if the body margin is set to 20 pixels, the other elements within the file
will not inherit the body margin by default.
body {margin: 20px;}

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Combining Selectors
You can combine elements within one selector in the following fashion.
h1, h2, h3, h4, h5, h6 {
color: #009900;
font-family: Georgia, sans-serif;
}
As you can see in the above code, I have grouped all the header elements into one
selector. Each one is separated by a comma. The final result of the above code sets all
headers to green and to the specified font. If the user does not have the first font I
declared it will go to another sans-serif font the user has installed on their computer.

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Chapter 3 : CSS Classes
The class selector allows you to style items within the same (X)HTML element
differently. Similiar to what I mentioned in the introduction about inline styles. Except
with classes the style can be overwritten by changing out stylesheets. You can use the
same class selector again and again within an (X)HTML file.
To put it more simply, this sentence you are reading is defined in my CSS file with the
following.
p{
font-size: small;
color: #333333
}
Pretty simple, but lets say that I wanted to change the word “sentence” to green bold
text, while leaving the rest of the sentence untouched. I would do the following to my
(X)HTML file.
<p>
To put it more simply, this <span class=”greenboldtext”>sentence</span> you are
reading is styled in my CSS file by the following.
</p>

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Then in my CSS file I would add this style selector:
.greenboldtext{
font-size: small;
color: #008080;
font-weight: bold;
}
The final result would look like the following:

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Chapter 4 : CSS IDs
IDs are similar to classes, except once a specific id has been declared it cannot be used
again within the same (X)HTML file.
I generally use IDs to style the layout elements of a page that will only be needed once,
whereas I use classes to style text and such that may be declared multiple times.
The main container for this page is defined by the following.
<div id=”container”>
Everything within my document is inside this division.
</div>
I have chosen the id selector for the “container” division over a class, because I only
need to use it one time within this file.
Then in my CSS file I have the following:
#container{
width: 80%;
margin: auto;
padding: 20px;
border: 1px solid #666;
background: #ffffff;
}

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Chapter 5 : CSS Divisions
Ok so you have finished the first 4 chapters in my series. You have learned the very
basics of CSS, how the syntax works and a bit about classes and IDs. Now we are going
to take a quick break from CSS and focus on the (X)HTML side of using it.

Divsions
Divisions are a block level (X)HTML element used to define sections of an (X)HTML
file. A division can contain all the parts that make up your website. Including additional
divisions, spans, images, text and so on.
You define a division within an (X)HTML file by placing the following between the
<body></body> tags:
<div>
Site contents go here
</div>
Though most likely you will want to add some style to it. You can do that in the
following fashion:
<div id=”container”>
Site contents go here
</div>

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The CSS file contains this:
#container{
width: 70%;
margin: auto;
padding: 20px;
}

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Chapter 6 : CSS Spans
Spans are very similar to divisions except they are an inline element versus
a block level element. No line break is created when a span is declared.
You can use the span tag to style certain areas of text, as shown in the
following:
<span class=”italic”>This text is italic</span>
Then in my CSS file:
.italic{
font-style: italic;
}

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Chapter 7 : CSS Margins

As you may have guessed, the margin property declares the margin between an
(X)HTML element and the elements around it. The margin property can be set for the
top, left, right and bottom of an element. (see example below)
margin-top: length percentage or auto;
margin-left: length percentage or auto;
margin-right: length percentage or auto;
margin-bottom: length percentage or auto;
As you can also see in the above example you have 3 choices of values for the margin
property
•
•
•

length
percentage
auto

You can also declare all the margins of an element in a single property as follows:
margin: 10px 10px 10px 10px;
If you declare all 4 values as I have above, the order is as follows:
1.
2.
3.
4.

top
right
bottom
left

If only one value is declared, it sets the margin on all sides. (see below)
margin: 10px;
If you only declare two or three values, the undeclared values are taken from the

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opposing side. (see below)
margin: 10px 10px; /* 2 values */
margin: 10px 10px 10px; /* 3 values */
You can set the margin property to negative values. If you do not declare the margin
value of an element, the margin is 0 (zero).
margin: -10px;
Elements like paragraphs have default margins in some browsers, to combat this set the
margin to 0 (zero).
p {margin: 0;}
Note: You do not have to add px (pixels) or whatever units you use, if the value is 0
(zero).
You can see in the example below, the elements for this site are set to be 20px (pixels)
from the body
body{
margin: 20px;
background: #eeeeee;
font-size: small;
font-family: Tahoma, Arial, “Trebuchet MS”, Helvetica, sans-serif;
text-align: left;
}

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Chapter 8 : CSS Padding
Padding is the distance between the border of an (X)HTML element and the content
within it.
Most of the rules for margins also apply to padding, except there is no “auto” value, and
negative values cannot be declared for padding.
padding-top: length percentage;
padding-left: length percentage;
padding-right: length percentage;
padding-bottom: length percentage;
As you can also see in the above example you have 2 choices of values for the padding
property
•

length

•

percentage

You can also declare all the padding of an element in a single property as follows:
padding: 10px 10px 10px 10px;
If you declare all 4 values as I have above, the order is as follows:
1. top
2. right
3. bottom
4. left

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If only one value is declared, it sets the padding on all sides. (see below)
padding: 10px;
If you only declare two or three values, the undeclared values are taken from the
opposing side. (see below)
padding: 10px 10px; /* 2 values */
padding: 10px 10px 10px; /* 3 values */
If you do not declare the padding value of an element, the padding is 0 (zero).
Note: You do not have to add px (pixels) or whatever units you use, if the value is 0
(zero).
You can see in the example below, the main container for this site has 30px (pixels) of
padding between the border and the text.
#container{
width: 70%;
margin: auto;
padding: 30px;
}

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Chapter 9 : CSS Text Properties

Color
You can set the color of text with the following:
color: value;
Possible values are
•

color name – example:(red, black…)

•

hexadecimal number – example:(#ff0000, #000000)

•

RGB color code – example:(rgb(255, 0, 0), rgb(0, 0, 0))

Letter Spacing
You can adjust the space between letters in the following manner. Setting the value to 0,
prevents the text from justifying. You can use negative values.
letter-spacing: value;
Possible values are
•

normal

•

length

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Example:
These letters are spaced at 5px.

Text Align
You can align text with the following:
text-align: value;
Possible values are
•

left

•

right

•

center

•

justify

Examples:
This text is aligned left.
This text is aligned in the center.
This text is aligned right.
This text is justified.

Text Decoration
You can decorate text with the following:

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text-decoration: value;
Possible values are
•

none

•

underline

•

overline

•

line through

•

blink

Examples:
This text is underlined.
This text is overlined.
This text has a line through it.
This text is blinking (not in internet explorer).

Text Indent
You can indent the first line of text in an (X)HTML element with the following:
text-indent: value;
Possible values are
•

length

•

percentage

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Examples:
This text is indented 10px pixels.

Text Transform
You can control the size of letters in an (X)HTML element with the following:
text-transform: value;
Possible values are
•

none

•

capitalize

•

lowercase

•

uppercase

Examples:
this first letter in each word is capitalized, though it is not in my file.
this text is all uppercase, though it is all lowercase in my file.
THIS TEXT IS ALL LOWERCASE. THOUGH IT IS ALL UPPERCASE IN MY
FILE.

White Space
You can control the whitespace in an (X)HTML element with the following:
white-space: value;

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Possible values are
•

normal

•

pre

•

nowrap

Word Spacing
You can adjust the space between words in the following manner. You can use negative
values.
word-spacing: value;
Possible values are
•

normal

•

length

Example:
These words are spaced at 5px.

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Chapter 10 : CSS Font Properties
Font
The font property can set the style, weight, variant, size, line height and font:
font: italic bold normal small/1.4em Verdana, sans-serif;
The above would set the text of an element to an italic style a bold weight a normal
variant a relative size a line height of 1.4em and the font to Verdana or another sansserif typeface.

Font-Family
You can set what font will be displayed in an element with the font-family property.
There are 2 choices for values:
•

family-name

•

generic family

If you set a family name it is best to also add the generic family at the end. As this is a
priortized list. So if the user does not have the specified font name it will use the same
generic family. (see below)
font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;

Font Size
You can set the size of the text used in an element by using the font-size property.

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font-size: value;
There are a lot of choices for values:
•

xx-large

•

x-large

•

larger

•

large

•

medium

•

small

•

smaller

•

x-small

•

xx-small

•

length

•

% (percent)

Font Style
You can set the style of text in a element with the font-style property
font-style: value;
Possible values are
•

normal

•

itailc

•

oblique

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Font Variant
You can set the variant of text within an element with the font-variant property
font-variant: value;
Possible values are
•

normal

•

small-caps

Font Weight
You can control the weight of text in an element with the font-weight property:
font-weight: value;
Possible values are
•

lighter

•

normal

•

100

•

bold

•

bolder

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Chapter 11 : CSS Anchors, Links and Pseudo Classes
Below are the various ways you can use CSS to style links.
a:link {color: #009900;}
a:visited {color: #999999;}
a:hover {color: #333333;}
a:focus {color: #333333;}
a:active {color: #009900;}
Now lets take a look at what each one of the above link styles actually does.
a:link {color: #009900;}
The first on the list sets the color of a link when no event is occuring
a:visited {color: #999999;}
The second sets the color a link changes to, when the user has already visited that url
a:hover {color: #333333;}
The third sets the color a link changes to as the user places their mouse pointer over the
link
a:focus {color: #333333;}
The fourth is primarilly for the same purpose as the last one, but this one is for users
that are not using a mouse and are tabbing through the links via there keyboards tab
key, it sets the color a link changes to as the user tabs through the links

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a:active {color: #009900;}
The fifth on the list sets the color a link changes to as it is pressed.
Lets look at an example: Google
If your last visit to Google is not stored in your cache than the above link to google is
blue, if you have already been to google then the link should be grey. if you mouseover
or tab through the links, the link will change to dark grey, and last but not least if you
click and hold the link without releasing it you will see it return back to the original
blue color.
You must declare the a:link and a:visited before you declare a:hover. Furthermore,
you must declare a:hover before you can declare a:active.
Using the above code will style all links on your web page, unless you declare a
seperate set of link styles for a certain area of your webpage.

Pseudo Classes
You can set links contained in different parts of your web page to be different colors by
using the pseudo class. For example, lets say you want your links in the content area to
have a different color then the links in the left or right column of your webpage.
You can do this in the following fashion:
#content a:link {color: #009900;}
#content a:visited {color: #999999;}

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#content a:hover {color: #333333;}
#content a:focus {color: #333333;}
#content a:active {color: #009900;}
Now assuming that you have your main content in a division named “content” all links
within that division will now be styled by this new style selector. Should your selector
have a different name, just change the #content selector to match your division name.
Then for the links in a column you could use the following:
#column a:link {color: #009900;}
#column a:visited {color: #999999;}
#column a:hover {color: #333333;}
#column a:focus {color: #333333;}
#column a:active {color: #009900;}
Once again, this assumes the name of the column division, just change the name to
match yours.
This same method can be accomplished by declaring a class instead of an id.
a.column:link {color: #009900;}
a.column:visited {color: #999999;}
a.column:hover {color: #333333;}
a.column:focus {color: #333333;}
a.column:active {color: #009900;}
Though in this case you will need to add a class to each link

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<a class=”column” href=”" title=”">some link text</a>
But, there is still yet an easier way
.column a:link {color: #009900;}
.column a:visited {color: #999999;}
.column a:hover {color: #333333;}
.column a:focus {color: #333333;}
.column a:active {color: #009900;}
Then in the (X)HTML file
<div class=”column”>
<a href=”" title=”">some link text</a>
</div>

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Chapter 12 : CSS Backgrounds
Background
You can style the background of an element in one declaration with the background
property.
background: #ffffff url(path_to_image) top left no-repeat fixed;
Values:
attachment
color
image
position
repeat
Or you can set each property individually

Background Attachment
If you are using an image as a background. You can set whether the background
scrolls with the page or is fixed when the user scrolls down the page with the
background-attachment property
background-attachment: value;
Values:
fixed
scroll

Background Color
You can specifically declare a color for the background of an element using the
background-color property.

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background-color: value;
Values:
color name
hexadecimal number
RGB color code
transparent

Background Image
You can set an image for the background of an element using the background-image
property.
background-image: url(path_to_image);
Values:
url
none

Background Position
You can position an image used for the background of an element using the
background-position property.
background-position: value;
Values:
top left
top center
top right
center left
center center
center right
bottom left

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bottom center
bottom right
x-% y-%
x-pos y-pos

Background Repeat
You can set if an image set as a background of an element is to repeat (across=x
and/or down=y) the screen using the background-repeat property.
background-repeat: value;
Values:
no-repeat
repeat
repeat-x
repeat-y

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Chapter 13 : CSS Borders

Border
You can set the color, style and width of the borders around an element in one
declaration by using the border property.
Values:
color
style
width
Or you can set each property individually

Border Color
You can set the color of a border independently with the border-color property.
border-color: value;
Values:
color name
hexadecimal number
RGB color code
transparent

Border Style
You can set the style of a border independently with the border-style property.
border-style: value;
Values:

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dashed
dotted
double
groove
hidden
inset
none
outset
ridge
solid

Border Width
You can set the width of a border independently with the border-width property.
border-width: value;
Values:
Length
Thin
Medium
Thick
Or you can set the elements for each borders side individually

Border Bottom
You can set the color, style and width of the bottom border around an element in
one declaration with the border-bottom property.
border-bottom: 1px solid #333333;
Values:
color

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style
width
Or you can set each value individually

Border Bottom Color
You can set the color of the bottom border around an element with the borderbottom-color property.
border-bottom-color: value;

Border Bottom Style
You can set the style of the bottom border around an element with the borderbottom-style property.
border-bottom-style: value;

Border Bottom Width
You can set the width of the bottom border around an element with the borderbottom-width property.
border-bottom-width: value;

Border Left
You can set the color, style and width of the left border around an element with the
border-left property.
border-left: 1px solid #333333;
Values:
color
style
width

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Border Left Color
You can set the color of the left border around an element with the border-left-color
property.
border-left-color: value;

Border Left Style
You can set the style of the left border around an element with the border-left-style
property.
border-left-style: value;

Border Left Width
You can set the width of the left border around an element with the border-leftwidth property.
border-left-width: value;

Border Right
You can set the color, style and width of the right border around an element in one
declaration with the border-right property.
border-right: 1px solid #333333;
Values:
color
style
width

Border Right Color
You can set the color of the right border around an element with the border-right-

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color property.
border-right-color: value;

Border Right Style
You can set the style of the right border around an element with the border-rightstyle property.
border-right-style: value;

Border Right Width
You can set the width of the right border around an element with the border-rightwidth property.
border-right-width: value;

Border Top
You can set the color, style and width of the top border around an element in one
declaration with the border-top property.
border-top: 1px solid #333333;
Values:
color
style
width

Border Top Color
You can set the color of the top border around an element with the border-top-color
property.

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border-top-color: value;
Border Top Style
You can set the style of the top border around an element with the border-top-style
property.
border-top-style: value;

Border Top Width
You can set the width of the top border around an element with the border-topwidth property.
border-top-width: value;

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Chapter 14 : CSS Lists

List Style
You can control the appearance of ordered and unordered lists in one declaration with
the list-style property
list-style: value value;
Values:
•
•
•

image
position
type

Or you can control them individually

List Style Image
You can use an image for the bullet of unordered lists with the list-style property
list-style-image: url(path_to_image.gif, jpg or png);
If you use an image, it is a good idea to declare the list-style-type also in case the user
has images turned off.

List Style Position
You can control the position of ordered and unordered lists with the list-style-position
property
list-style-position: value;

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Values
•
•

inside
outside

List Style Type
You can control the type of bullet ordered and unordered lists use with the list-styletype property
list-style-type: value;
Values
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•

disc
circle
square
decimal
lower-roman
upper-roman
lower-alpha
upper-alpha
none

41

Chapter 15 : CSS Width and Height Properties

Height
You can control the height of an element with the height property
height: value;
Values:
•
•
•

auto
length
percentage

Line Height
You can control the height between lines with the line-height property
line-height: value;
Values:
•
•
•
•

normal
number
length
percentage

Max Height
You can control the maximum height of an element with the max-height property
max-height: value;
Values:
•

none
42

•
•

length
percentage

Min Height
You can control the minimum height of an element with the min-height property
min-height: value;
Values:
•
•

length
percentage

Width
You can control the width of an element with the width property
width: value;
Values:
•
•
•

auto
length
percentage

Max Width
You can control the maximum width of an element with the max-width property
max-width: value;
Values:
•
•

none
length
43

•

percentage

Min Width
You can control the minimum width of an element with the min-width property
min-width: value;
Values:
•
•

length
percentage

44

Chapter 16 : CSS Classification

Clear
You can control if an element allows floated elements to its sides with the clear
property
clear: value;
Values:
•
•
•
•

none
both
left
right

None
This is the default setting, floated elements can appear on either side of the element set
to clear: none;

Both
Setting the value to both, causes no floated elements to appear on either side of the
element set to clear: both;

Left
Setting the value to left, causes no floated elements to appear to the left side of the
element set to clear: left;

Right
Setting the value to right, causes no floated elements to appear to the right side of the
element set to clear: right;

Clip

45

You can control how much of an element is visible with the clip property
clip: value;
Values:
•
•

auto
shape

Currently the only shape recognized by the clip property is rect (rectangle)
clip: rect(10px, 10px, 10px, 10px);

Cursor
You can control the style of cursor to be used in an element with the cursor property
cursor: value;
Values:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•

auto
crosshair
default
help
move
pointer
text
url
wait
e-resize
ne-resize
nw-resize
n-resize
se-resize
sw-resize
s-resize
w-resize

If you choose to use a custom cursor, it is always a good idea to declare a generic one

46

after the custom value.
cursor: url(“image.cur”), default;

Display
You can control how an element is displayed with the display property
display: value;
Values:
•
•
•
•

block
inline
list-item
none

Block
Creates a line break before and after the element

Inline
No line break is created

List Item
Creates a line break before and after the element and adds a list item marker

None
Makes an element not display on the page

Float
The float property changes how text and or images within an element are displayed

47

float: value;
Values:
•
•
•

left
right
none

Left
The image/text is displayed to the left of the parent element

Right
The image/text is displayed to the right of the parent element

None
There is no change in the way the image/text is displayed

Overflow
You can control what an elements contents will do if it overflows it boundaries with the
overflow property
overflow: value;
Values:
•
•
•
•

auto
hidden
visible
scroll

#overflow_box {width:200px; height:200px; border-top: 1px solid #eee; border-left:
1px solid #eee; border-bottom: 1px solid #eee; padding: 10px; overflow: auto;}

48

Then in the (X)HTML file I have this:
<div id=”overflow_box”>Contents</div>

Visibility
You can control if an element is visible or not with the visibility property
visibility: value;
Values:
•
•

hidden
visible

Z-Index
You can control the layer order of positioned elements with the z-index property
z-index: value;
Values:
•
•

auto
number

The higher the number the higher the level. Negative numbers are allowed

49

Chapter 17 : CSS Positioning
Position
The position property (as you may have guessed) changes how elements are positioned
on your webpage.
position: value;
Values:
•
•
•
•

static
relative
absolute
fixed

Static
Static positioning is by default the way an element will appear in the normal flow of
your (X)HTML file. It is not necessary to declare a position of static. Doing so, is no
different than not declaring it at all.
position: static;

Relative
Positioning an element relatively places the element in the normal flow of your
(X)HTML file and then offsets it by some amount using the properties left, right, top
and bottom. This may cause the element to overlap other elements that are on the page,
which of course may be the effect that is required.
position: relative;

50

Absolute
Positioning an element absolutely, removes the element from the normal flow of your
(X)HTML file, and positions it to the top left of its nearest parent element that has a
position declared other than static. If no parent element with a position other than static
exists then it will be positioned from the top left of the browser window.
position: absolute;

Fixed
Positioning an element with the fixed value, is the same as absolute except the parent
element is always the browser window. It makes no difference if the fixed element is
nested inside other positioned elements.Furthermore, an element that is positioned with
a fixed value, will not scroll with the document. It will remain in its position regardless
of the scroll position of the page.At this time IE6 (Internet Explorer 6) does not support
the fixed value for the positioning of an element. Thus it will not position fixed
elements correctly and will still scroll with the page. To see this effect in action you will
need to use a standards compliant browser, such as Firefox 1.0
position: fixed;
When positioning elements with relative, absolute or fixed values the following
properties are used to offset the element:
•
•
•
•

top
left
right
bottom

position: absolute; top: 10px; right: 10px;

51

Chapter 18 : CSS Pseudo Elements
The Syntax
The syntax for pseudo elements is a bit different than that of regular CSS, but it’s real
close. If you have already read chapter 11 then you are slightly ahead of the game.
selector:pseudo-element {property: value}
As you can see the only difference is that you place the pseudo element after the
selector, and divide the 2 with a (:) colon.
Or you can assign a class to a pseudo element as follows
selector.p:pseudo-element {property: value}
Using the above code would style all paragraphs within the declared selector with the
pseudo element.
The elements:
•
•

first-line
first-letter

First Line
The first-line pseudo element styles the first line of text in a block level element.
p{font-size: small;}
p:first-line {font-size: medium; color: #ff0000;}
As you can see in the above example paragraphs are set to be a small font size, but the
p:first-line is set to be a medium size and a red color. The result is that the first line of
all paragraphs will be red in color and a bit larger than the rest of the paragraph.
Though lets say you only want to style a certain paragraph of text with the first-line
element. Thats where declaring a class to the pseudo element comes into play.

52

first-line with class
p.special:first-line {font-size: medium; color: #ff0000;}
I have declared a class of special within my css file.
First-Line Example
This is a special sentence I wrote to demonstrate the use and look of the first-line
pseudo element. As you can see the first line of this paragraph is styled differently than
the rest of the text within it. All of this was done by simply adding class=”special” to
the opening <p> tag for this paragraph.
<p class=”special”>the content</p>
Where the first-line ends depends on the width of the browser window or containing
element, you can resize this page and see that it adjusts as you change the size of the
browser window.
The following properties can be assigned to the first-line pseudo element:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•

background
clear
color
font
letter-spacing
line-height
text-decoration
text-transform
vertical-align
word-spacing

First Letter
The first-letter pseudo element styles the first letter of text in a block level element.
p{font-size: small;}
p:first-letter {font-size: medium; color: #ff0000;}
As you can see in the above example paragraphs are set to be a small font size, but the
p:first-letter is set to be a medium size and a red color. The result is that the first letter
53

of all paragraphs will be red in color and a bit larger than the rest of the paragraph.
Though lets say you only want to style a certain paragraph of text with the first-letter
element. Thats where declaring a class to the pseudo element comes into play.
first-letter with class
p.special_letter:first-letter {font-size: x-large; font-weight: bold; color: #ff0000;}
I have declared a class of special_letter within my css file.
First-Letter Example
This is a special sentence I wrote to demonstrate the use and look of the first-letter
pseudo element. As you can see the first letter of this paragraph is styled differently
than the rest of the characters within it. All of this was done by simply adding
class=”special_letter” to the opening <p> tag for this paragraph.
<p class=”special_letter”>the content</p>
The following properties can be assigned to the first-letter pseudo element:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•

background
border
clear
color
float
font
line-height
margin
padding
text-decoration
text-transform
word-spacing

54

END

Crated By: - Vijay Kumar Sharma

Email: - vk_9010@yahoo.com

Mobile No. 8385056379

Email: - vijayjnu1235@gmail.com

55

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